Brown Locks and Pink Flames
by jazzybizzle
Summary: The first time Zuko saw Ty Lee with her hair down clearly threw him off. / "What's it like?" Zuko glanced at her quickly before moving on to his next stance. "What's what like?" "You know..." She played with her fingers, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Firebending."/ {Slight AU} Zuko admires Ty Lee's new look, and shows her a new side of firebending. Ty Luko/Kataang/Tokka


**You ask for more, and you all shall get more!**

**Once again, this is a random idea that popped in this big brain of mine :)**

**I might also continue Tea for Two at 2 AM, but it will most likely be just the morning after.**

**Sooo, this is AU where Azula is Fire Lord (Or Empress) and Katara and Zuko lost the fight. Three years after that, and the world is in a dictatorship run by the crazed femme fatale. Team Avatar, minus Suki but Ty Lee instead, are in the same hiding place they were in Book 3; with the beach and all. But they're working undercover, and keeping things on the low until they overthrow Azula.**

**Just to let you guys know the overview, but I don't plan on getting into it. The focus is mainly on Zuko and Ty Lee, but there's hints of Kataang and Tokka too. **

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The first time Zuko saw Ty Lee with her hair down clearly threw him off. The nineteen year old was practicing his firebending with his usual scowl. Ever since he lost the battle to Azula, he's been more bitter than before. But unlike last time, he had friends who loved him and were destined to keep them all together. Katara was the heart of the group; she kept everyone together when they wanted to fall apart.

While Suki left to Kyoshi Island, Ty Lee was the one who stayed and returned with the Gaang back here; a place where no one would find them, not even Azula herself-for all she cared, they wiped off the face of the earth. Sokka was heartbroken, and their relationship came to a halt.

"Mind if I join you?"

Zuko looked up as Aang walked out, the recently turned sixteen year old running an arrowed hand through his hair. Zuko nodded. "Sure."

The two friends began practicing their Bending, exchanging their fires with each other; Katara taught Zuko that technique, which was a casual exercise whether you were a waterbender or a firebender.

After his battle with Ozai and finding out that Azula was at large, Aang was furious. He had felt like a big failure. But, Katara, Toph, and Sokka had a private talk with him and he seemed better afterwards. But Zuko knew the Avatar felt like he was a failure to the world.

"How've you been?" Aang asked.

"'M alright," Zuko said with a shrug. "The usual. You?"

Aang nodded,"The usual." And he smiled at the older boy.

"And your relationship with Katara?"

To Zuko's amusement, Aang started blushing. "W-We're okay."

"Just okay?" He was teasing now.

"Good, great, fine..._amazing_," Aang's voice dropped, eyes widening to make his point, and Zuko let a soft chuckle escape him. "Zuko, you don't know how great she is..."

"I kind of have an idea." Zuko smiled softly. "You know, if it wasn't for Katara, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Aang nodded again, smile still present but his gaze more serious. "And...if it wasn't for you, she probably wouldn't be here right now." Zuko eyed him questionably, but then realization hit him when he remembered. "I never got to thank you for that. For saving her. I don't know what I'd do without her, Zuko..."

"That's what friends do," Zuko told him. "Besides, I couldn't just stand there. I acted on instinct. I mean...Katara's really grown on me. Imagine if you were in my shoes, and it was Toph or someone thrown in harms way, and you had a chance to redirect it or do...something."

"I'd die for Toph," Aang admitted. "She's like my little sister...even though we're the same age and she pushes me around like a sack of potatoes."

"True."

"Hey, I'm the Avatar. I can easily beat her in any match!"

"Oh yeah? Then when was the last time you were in the Avatar State?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"That's what I thought."

"Aang?" A female voice called.

"Out here, sweetie!" Aang called back, distracted, and Zuko completely got in control of the licking strip of flame.

Katara came out, with Ty Lee right behind her.

"Dinner's ready!" said Ty Lee.

Zuko looked up, and his flame went out.

Ty Lee, who was dressed in her white wrappings and pink bottoms, flipped her long hair over her shoulder. Her hair was out of it's usual ponytail, and she looked...good.

"C'mon, Zuzu!" Ty Lee leaped forward, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him inside. "Get in here before your food gets cold!"

Zuko made a face. "...Don't call me that."

"Okay...how about Captain Hotty?"

"...No."

"Cranky Pants?"

"...You know what, you can call me Zuzu."

"Yay!"

::.::

The next day, Zuko was back in the courtyard, practicing his firebending. Aang and Katara went down to the beach for some "waterbending practice", and he thinks Sokka and Toph were bonding over making their "Ultimate Xtreme Meat Sandwich" together.

He heard footsteps but paid no attention, shooting out a fireball from his fist. It wasn't until he heard her voice.

"You look so cute when you're in deep concentration."

And his next fireball came in a puff.

"Oh yeah? How do I look now?" He asked, hands on his hips as he mildly glared at her. She was sitting the way she normally did; head resting on her chin, and legs over her head.

Ty Lee giggled. "Sassy."

Zuko rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Very funny. What're you doing here, Ty Lee? Don't you have something to do?"

"Well..." Her eyes twinkled as she placed a finger on her chin. "I was teasing Sokka and Toph for a while, but I didn't want to die in a rockslide, and since Katara and Aang are gone...it leaves you left!" She hopped upright and backwards, doing a one-handed handstand. "Wanna hang out with me?"

"Not now." He produced another flame. "I'm getting some training in."

The acrobat huffed, gracefully coming down to the ground, crossing her legs. "Okay. Then I'll wait for you to get done."

"You're in for a long wait."

A couple hour passed by, yet Ty Lee was still there, her grey irises following his every move as if it fascinated her. As if he fascinated her.

Her next question threw him off.

"What's it like?"

Zuko glanced at her quickly before moving on to his next stance. "What's what like?"

"You know..." She played with her fingers, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Firebending."

Zuko pondered that, straightening up. Hands put together, he closed his eyes, becoming one with his chi. He inhaled deeply, and on his exhale, he produced a fire ring around himself, but not big enough to hurt or harm Ty Lee in any way. He summed it up in a sentence, knowing he could go on for hours about his ability being a gift and a curse.

"It's...one hell of a rush."

Ty Lee started to smile.

"Why d'you ask?" Zuko asked her curiously.

"Well...growing up with you guys and becoming friends with the Avatar and his friends...I noticed that they all have some kind of unbridled joy whenever they use their chi. And even Sokka has his ways of using his boomerang and sword. And now that I think about it, I admired Mai from the way she used those cool knives and shruikens." Ty Lee almost looked sad. "And I'm just...a circus freak who's a chi blocker. That's all I know. Gymnastics, flexibility, and jabbing people..."

Zuko stared at her, thinking over what she just said. It took a minute, but he finally spoke. "I thought circus freak was a compliment?" He gave her a little smile.

She smiled back at him. "It still is. But you know what I mean, right?"

"I see where you're coming from...but I think being a chi blocker is cool, especially for you. Ever since I met you, you've had your bubbly, flexible personality. Remember when we first met?"

"I was seven, and you were nine," Ty Lee said.

"And I was by the pond, forced to play with Azula and her 'little friends'."

"Azula introduced us, sort of. Mai just said hello and hung back..."

"While you cartwheeled over to me and said..."

_"Hi, I'm Ty Lee! What'syourname, what'syourfavoritecolor, doyouwannabemyfriend?"_

Zuko smiled and Ty Lee giggled at the memory.

"Things were so simple back then..." Ty Lee sighed. "Next thing you know, you loose your best friend..." She suddenly snapped her head up. "Zuko, why is your fire orange and Azula's fire is blue?"

"She's...more instense," Zuko allowed.

"More so than you? That's hard to believe."

"I know."

"Can fire come in different colors?"

Zuko automatically began thinking about the dragons. Ever since that day, he had been trying to produce other colors besides his normal orange. He had succeeded in making blue (which reminded him of Azula so he refrained from it), green, red, and some in between. He nodded at her, and she clapped.

"Ooh! Can you show me?"

Zuko looked around himself, then sighed in defeat; because he could produce a color that wasn't very...manly, he tried not to produce this color. But whenever he had a warm, fuzzy feeling when the acrobat was around, he couldn't help it.

So he sat down next to her, a little closer than usual, and she turned her body eagerly towards him.

"I haven't understood the true meaning of firebending until a couple of years back," he said, "and now that I do..." He studied her now curious face before closing his eyes, hand balling up into a fist, and concentrated. He let pleasant feelings radiate through him, from the moment he and Ty Lee met, to when she decided to go with him and Team Avatar into hiding. On a deep exhale, feeling heat rise in his palm, he opened his hand as well as his eyes to stare into hers and wait for a reaction.

First, Ty Lee's eyes widened, then she gasped, looking at him, then at the breathtakingly beautiful pink flame that Zuko was producing. She repeated this process, and Zuko started to smirk.

"Oh Spirits!" she gasped, and Zuko put his finger to his lips. She covered her mouth, opening her hands a little so she could continue in a quieter tone, "That is _so _cool! How are you doing that?"

Zuko shrugged. "I just...thought about what makes me feel happy..." The rest came out in a murmur. "And loved..."

She had heard him, beaming at her best friend, then gazed at the pink flame.

"Can we...not tell anyone about this?" He asked. "If Sokka or Toph found about it...I wouldn't hear the end of it."

She giggled. "Your secret's safe with me..." She sighed at the beauty, then groaned. "Why can't_ I_ be a firebender? I would _so_ be firebending pink everywhere!"

Zuko rolled his eyes, and the flame went out.

"No!" Ty Lee grasped his hand, pulling it close to her face. "Where'd it go? Where'd it go?!"

"Ty Lee..."

"It was so pretty!"

"Ty Lee-"

"And you killed it!"

"Ty _Lee_-"

"That flame had hopes and dreams!"

"TY LEE!" Zuko grabbed a hold of her hands, and she gazed at him, frozen; their faces were a mere foot apart now. "Please calm down," he said feebly.

Ty Lee giggled at the look on his face. "Sorry." Not being able to help herself, she slowly reached out to touch his scar. Automatically, his hand shot out, grabbing her wrist in a tight grip, causing her to gasp and stiffen.

"Sorry..." He murmured, eyes closed. "Old habits die hard." His steel grip loosening on her, he brought her hand closer to his face, letting her fingers curve around the permanently damaged skin; an eternal reminder of his hell of a past, his pain, and his suffering, perfectly etched on his beautiful face. Ty Lee remembered the day he received it. While Azula had wanted to get a closer look in the front row, Ty Lee had been in the very back, crying her heart out as Ozai attacked her friend.

Zuko's eyes stayed closed, relaxing more by the second; he leaned into her soft touch, and almost sighed blissfully when her other hand cupped his other cheek. Instinctively, he wrapped his hand around that wrist, gently this time. He never wanted her to stop, and he realized he wanted...more.

"I was there, you know," she breathed. "When it happened."

"You were there?" he breathed back just as softly, almost pained.

"Yeah...I'm sorry I didn't tell you...you wouldn't talk to me or even Mai for days after that. And when your mother left..."

Zuko's eyes fluttered open, eyes cast downward. "I wish you never had to see that."

Ty Lee tilted his chin up. "But I did. It wouldn't have changed anything. Despite you downing yourself because of your looks and nobody'll want to be your friend. I'll always be your friend, no matter what you look like..." His top was hanging open, and, feeling daring, she slipped her hand inside to feel the scar on his chest. Zuko shivered. "Katara told me about this, you know. And to think this could have been her..." Ty Lee shuddered, then her eyes met his. "You're beautiful..."

Zuko smiled wryly. "No...if anyone, it's definitely you."

She blushed, and she looked down this time, timidly. Getting an idea, Zuko balled his hand into a fist, then tucked it under Ty Lee's chin and gave a little push. Ty Lee's head tilted up, and his lips were on hers. The young woman stiffened at first, but then relaxed into the kiss and kissed him back softly.

Zuko pulled back a little, blushing, breaking the kiss. "Sorry. That was out of line..."

Ty Lee smiled at him, biting her lip, and he couldn't help but lean in again; she met him halfway, her hand slithering up his chest and through his shaggy locks. He wrapped an arm around her waist, flattening his palm against the small of her back, causing her back to arch into him and move closer. She moaned a little, tilting her head to the side and kissed him deeply.

A minute passed. Two, three, maybe even four. Possibly an hour. But Zuko and Ty Lee didn't care, their lips still locked together in an almost sensual passion. His fingers ran through and locked themselves in her hair, hers exploring his chest and abdomen.

"Mmmm..." Ty Lee panted against his mouth, getting breathless, and Zuko pulled his lips up, reluctantly breaking their kiss once again for oxygen supply himself. Their foreheads pressed together. "Hey...Zuzu...?"

"Yeah?"

She giggled, cupping his neck. "Your aura just turned pink."

Zuko's face turned into mock horror. "Oh Spirits, _please_ _don't tell_ Toph and Sokka...-"

"Don't tell Toph and Sokka what?" said a familiar male voice.

"Meathead!" another female voice snapped.

Zuko and Ty Lee's heads snapped up, seeing Sokka and Toph themselves, leaning out and around the doorway. Toph, with her long hair looking like they'll come alive any second and attack Sokka any minute, and Sokka, with his tall self towering over her.

"None of your business!" Zuko snapped.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Ty Lee asked.

"Me? Not long," said Toph. "This dumbass on the other hand has been watching you two swap spit for five minutes."

"I WAS NOT!"

"WAS TOO!"

"WAS NOT!" Sokka disappeared inside the house.

"WAS TOO!" Toph called after him, and Zuko and Ty Lee got up to go inside as well. Ty Lee went first, but as Zuko was passing, Toph stopped him. "Pink fire _and_ a pink aura? Really, Hothead?" she whispered, and Zuko's nostrils flared.

"YOU SNEAKY LITTLE-"

"Ah, ah, aaah!" Toph interrupted him. "Keep that up and I'll tell everyone at lunch what your new favorite color is."

And with that, she walked off with a smug grin, leaving a fuming banished prince.

But as Zuko thought about it...

Pink might not be so bad.

And besides...He started to smirk. Payback was long overdue...

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**Hehe xP Sokka and Toph at the end was a random choice because I didn't know how to end it...hope you liked it! **


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